Secrets of My Hollywood Life #4: Paparazzi Princess

by Jen Calonita

  "Okay," says Ava, pulling out her keys. "Let's get you back to work."

  Outside the store, a crowd has grown. A girl our own age taps Ava on her shoulder. Her friends are standing behind her. They all look nervous. "Hi," the girl says. Her hands are shaking. "You're Ava Hayden, right? And Lauren Cobb and Kaitlin Burke? Could we get your autographs?"

  I smile and put my hand out to take her piece of paper. Ava pushes it away. "Can't you see we're busy?" she barks at the girl. "God." Ava looks at me and rolls her eyes. "It's like these people don't appreciate that we have our own lives and we don't want to be bothered every second of the day! Can't we just shop in peace?"

  I want to tell Ava that she just spent an hour posing for the paparazzi while she shopped and she didn't consider that an invasion of privacy. "I'll sign it for you," I tell the girl kindly. Her friends file behind her.

  "You're such a pushover." Lauren giggles. "We'll meet you at the car." The two of them walk away and I can see them whispering to each other.

  "Is she always like that?" one of the girls asks me.

  "She's really nice," I tell her even though I'm completely rattled by what just happened. How could Lauren and Ava have been so rude? Signing autographs is part of being a celebrity. Sure, I don't want someone to stick a pen and paper under the bathroom stall, but when I'm out shopping, I don't mind.

  "She doesn't look it," complains another girl.

  Ava honks her horn and I can see that her candy apple- colored BMW convertible is idling. "Come on! You said you had to go!" Ava's right. I apologize to those I didn't get to and rush to the car. Gary and Larry take a few parting shots of us as we drive off.

  "Let's hit Fred Segal in Santa Monica," Lauren pleads as Ava peels away. "I need to get a jacket to match this cute skirt I lifted." She unzips her slouchy bag and pulls out a plaid pencil skirt. Several more items are crammed inside. "What?" Lauren asks me when she sees my freaked-out expression. "What was I supposed to do? She wouldn't give us the discount."

  "They won't even know it's missing," Ava adds. "We do it all the time and no one cares. I got stuff for you too. Show her, Lau."

  Lauren pulls out a black fitted top I really liked. "This is for you," Lauren says and holds the shirt out to me.

  I stare at it and try not to freak out. "I can't take it," I blurt out and clutch my bag of actual purchases to my chest. "I don't feel right. You guys keep it."

  I see Ava roll her eyes in the rearview mirror. "Suit yourself. You're lucky you and I are the same size."

  I don't get it. Ava and Lauren have boatloads of money. Why would they steal stuff? Wouldn't they be mortified if they were caught and the story was all over the news? I know I would be. I'd even be embarrassed if I was with them when they were caught. I don't want to be associated with this sort of thing. I picture my young fans. I've done some irresponsible things over the years, but I've never broken the law. Between this, the way Lauren reacted when I was on the phone with Liz, and the way they treated those fans, I'm starting to see Ava and Lauren in a new light. And I don't mean the bright, shiny, happy one I saw before. I hate to say this, but maybe Sky was right.

  "So what do you say, Kaitlin?" Lauren asks again. "Want to go to Santa Monica?"

  "This was a lot of fun, but I don't want to get myself fired. I have to get back," I tell them.

  "You're not wimping out on us because we took that stuff, are you?" Ava asks. "Because it's nothing. We just do it for kicks. That stuff is way overpriced."

  "We don't do it that much," Lauren adds. I nod.

  "Look, we won't do it when you're with us, okay?" Ava says, sounding annoyed. "I can see it makes you uncomfortable." She looks at Lauren. "And we were going to stop doing it soon anyway, right Lau?" Lauren nods.

  Well, I guess if they were going to stop anyway, they're not that bad. And they have been pretty great to me these last few weeks when no one else (other than Austin, of course) has. "I'm not mad," I say. "You do what you want." Ava smiles.

  "Are you free tomorrow night? We're doing dinner at Mr. Chow." Lauren squeals. "You have to wear the dress. We'll all wear it. It will look so cute."

  Ugh. I hate matching outfits. It's so babyish. But Lauren and Ava are looking at me hopefully, and I feel guilty saying no. I do like Mr. Chow. They have the best fried rice with shrimp. Besides, what's the alternative? Going home and being grilled by Mom and Dad or Nadine? Listening to Mom pace the halls as she waits for the DHL guy to bring an advance copy of her Fashionistas issue, which is due any day now? No, I need to get out. Even if it is a work night, it's not like I'm going to bed early. I can hardly sleep anymore. "Okay," I agree.

  They both let out an ear-piercing squeal.

  I look at my watch. It's now 2:30. I'm already thirty minutes late and by the time I get back to the set it will be forty-five. That's pushing it.

  My Sidekick hums and I groan. It's Nadine.

  FUTUREPREZ: Where R U????????????

  Fashionistas

  March Issue

  Mommy Dearest

  Being a mother and manager to one of young Hollywood's hottest stars--Family Affair's Kaitlin Burke--is a juggling act, but Meg Burke says it's all in a day's work. "If you want to keep your kid on top, you've got to push them hard. Even if they hate you for it." Looking out for your superstar daughter's interests are one thing, but critics say Meg's bullying is not only alienating her daughter, it's turning off the whole town.

  By Andrew Pullichi

  It's almost eighty degrees on this January morning in Los Angeles, but Meg Burke looks cool as a cucumber. Dressed in a dazzling Michael Kors pant suit and Jimmy Choo heels, the mother of Family Affair's Kaitlin Burke says she doesn't perspire. "I will myself not to," she declares. "It's so uncivilized. I tell Kaitlin if she just concentrates, she can do it too."

  Just another nugget of advice from a woman whom some have nicknamed a momager--a mother whom pushes, pulls, and micromanages her child's Hollywood career to the point of making them almost not want one. "Some days Kaitlin looks like she just wants to cry," admits a friend of the young star. "She enjoys acting, but her mom puts so much pressure on her that sometimes I think she'd walk away from the whole business if she could." Not so, says Meg, who claims her daughter gets to make her own career decisions. "Kaitlin has to work hard if she wants to succeed," says Meg, sipping an unsweetened ice tea poolside at the family's multi-million dollar abode (which was paid for with earnings from her daughter's career). "She's one of the least stressed teenagers I know. She has a great job. She has an amazing career. Girls her age would kill for that attention. Is there anything wrong with making sure she ups that drive? Kaitlin knows what we do is for her own good."

  "Kaitlin could be the next Reese Witherspoon. What could hold her back is her mother."

  What Meg thinks is good business, others see as a real problem. "Kaitlin could be the next Reese Witherspoon," says one studio executive. Others interviewed echo that sentiment. With Kaitlin's show Family Affair going off the air in May, now is the time for the young star to really carve a niche for herself. "What could hold her back is her mother," adds the source. "There are studios who don't want to work with Kaitlin because her mom always has to put in her two cents. Meg's always making Kaitlin's deals more complicated," admits one studio executive. "She feels the need to be part of every decision, even though she knows so little about the business. All she cares about is profit and what she can get from the deal." Those who know Meg best claim she's even driving Kaitlin's beloved agent, Seth Meyers, up a wall with her excessive calling and her overblown ideas. "This woman wants to live her life through Kaitlin," says another friend. "She's going to ride that girl's fame to the bank."

  The whole family seems to have the same idea. A former secretary, Meg left her job to manage Kaitlin after she scored a part as one of the Paige's and Dennis's twins on Family Affair when she was four. Kaitlin's father, a former car salesman, followed suit and started producing movies his daughter would star in during hiat
us. After a while their son, Matt, now thirteen, wanted to get in the business too. "They drove studio executives crazy with their demands to get Matt hired for Kaitlin's movies," says a studio source. "The kid was cute, but he certainly didn't have the same potential that Kaitlin did right off the bat." Matt currently has a role on--what else?--Kaitlin's show, Family Affair.

  Over the course of the few weeks we spent with Meg, we heard about her own love of stardom at least a dozen times. "I always thought I would be great in front of a camera," Meg tells us one afternoon. "I could be the next Diane Sawyer if I had the chance." She's currently pushing her daughter to do a family reality show that would eventually be spun off and just follow Meg and her management duties. "Of course, Kaitlin would pop up from time to time," she adds.

  So what does Kaitlin herself think of all the drama? "My mom is very organized," says Kaitlin cautiously, when asked to comment on her mother's momager nickname. "She is on top of everything and usually knows who the hottest up-and-coming star is before I do. I always tell her if she was my age, she'd be a star ten times bigger than I am."

  Meg Burke would love to believe that.

  HOLLYWOOD NATION

  HOME NEWS STYLE PHOTOS ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITIES

  Retail Therapy

  February 14

  BFFs Kaitlin Burke, Lauren Cobb, and Ava Hayden forgo food for footwear during a one-hour shopping spree at Belladonna

  By Kayla Steven

  Who needs Cobb salad? Not Kaitlin Burke. Friends of the Family Affair star say she normally relaxes in her dressing room or hits the studio cafeteria on her work lunch hour, indulging in a salad or her favorite Subway sandwich and a TivO'd episode of American Idol.

  But that was before she started hanging with socialites turned reality stars Ava Hayden and Lauren Cobb. During a break from shooting her hit show on Monday, Kaitlin and the girls went shopping at hipster store Belladonna and blew a ton of money. "Kaitlin was trying on dozens of outfits," says a source on the scene. "I've never seen her spend so much in one day before. Her bill was over a thousand dollars. She looked nervous about spending so much."

  Belladonna sales clerk Prue Hammon says that Kaitlin was sweet and easy to deal with. "She's welcome to shop at Belladonna anytime," says Prue. (For a look at exactly what Kaitlin bought, click here.)

  Kaitlin's friends hope the excessive shopping and partying (Click here for a story about Kaitlin's hectic week!) aren't turning America's sweetheart into a paparazzi princess for all the wrong reasons. "Ever since she started hanging out with those girls, Kaitlin has been acting weird," says one close confidante. Buying cute Scoop shoes doesn't seem that weird to us, but if anything changes, you know Hollywood Nation Online will be the first to find out!

  Eleven: We Interrupt This Party to Bring You an Important Message

  "Stop right there!"

  I have my hand on the front door when Nadine's angry voice echoes through my home's two-story foyer. I sigh and turn around.

  "Where do you think you're going?" Nadine wants to know as she winds around me and blocks my exit out the door, sounding and looking a lot like a mom should. But Nadine's not my mom. She's my assistant, and what she's still doing here at eight thirty, I don't know. All I know is she's going to make me late.

  "I'm going out," I tell her. Isn't it obvious? I'm wearing my new Birkin jeans and Juicy sweater.

  "You have to be on set tomorrow morning at seven!" Nadine reminds me. "And the SATs are in three weeks. You should be studying. You should be getting beauty rest so you look refreshed for your meetings and shoots. What's going on, Kaitlin?"

  "Nothing," I say calmly.

  Well, nothing may be pushing it.

  I have been a teensy bit off my game lately. Nothing major, I swear. Just um, late back from lunch a few times, the first time being the day after the Vanity Fair party when I skipped out to go shopping with Lauren and Ava. When I got back to the studio late, Nadine was waiting outside, red-faced and looking like her head was about to explode. Not only did I leave without telling her and ignore her text, but I was late, something I never am for anything FA-related. Even though Nadine was mad, she still covered for me with Tom -- she told him I had a dermatologist appointment I had forgotten about -- and promised I would shoot my retrospective interview in the next few days.

  I didn't. I've, um, kind of made excuses ever since.

  And that's not the only thing I've put off. I know I need to call Liz back after what happened when we last talked. I'm just so embarrassed that I don't know how to start the conversation. Lauren and Ava think I'm crazy to even make up with Liz. Not that I completely trust their opinion after what I saw them pull that afternoon at Belladonna and with those fans. I actually talked to them about what happened and Ava said she was having a rough day and didn't mean to be so rude. That made me feel a little better, but I still can't push the stealing out of my mind. I've turned down all their offers to go shopping ever since. I can't seem to get out of our dinners, though. I already promised I'd go to events with them this week before that all happened and now I'm so busy that I've had to turn down a few work appointments. Seth has been trying to set up a meeting with the people for that TV pilot set in Alaska -- one I actually like -- but I've been putting him off too.

  I know I should feel bad about avoiding everyone, but you know what?

  I've liked playing hooky.

  Yep, that's right. I'll admit it. The girl who plays practically perfect Samantha, the one who pretty much does everything her parents, manager, assistant, and publicist tell her to do, who stops to sign every autograph that is asked of her, has actually enjoyed being out from under everyone's thumb for once.

  "This is not nothing," Nadine tells me, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be this irresponsible."

  "What good is being responsible anyway?" I question bitterly.

  Being responsible hasn't saved my beloved job. Or made me hear back from the Manolos director yet (he's still out of town). It hasn't gotten me an offer for that Broadway show, Meeting of the Minds, either (even if the show's producers said I nailed my audition). So why shouldn't I blow off a little steam? As Ava says, everyone needs to party.

  Nadine glares at me and I glare back. We're still glaring when Mom sweeps through the hallway on her way back from her Pilates workout on her new Pilates machine she bought to reduce the stress that's been brought on by her Fashionistas article. (She hasn't left the house in days she's so upset over it.) "Hi, girls," Mom says as she picks up the phone in the hall. "On your way out?"

  "Kaitlin is," Nadine says, her eyes never leaving my face. "Not that I think it's a good idea."

  "What did you say, Nadine?" Mom asks. She has the phone to her ear. "I couldn't hear you. I'm leaving another message for my lawyer." Mom is threatening to sue Fashionistas for defamation of character.

  My stomach tightens. I don't want Nadine giving me a hard time in front of Mom. If it wasn't for the Fashionistas article taking up all of Mom and Dad's attention, Mom would be flipping out over all the stupid articles being written about me. Every day this week there's been another picture of me with Lauren and Ava or an article about my supposed "reckless" behavior. How is shopping and going out for dinner or dancing with friends reckless? (There was one article about my nice Valentine's Day dinner with Austin, but still.)

  The press is so over-the-top sometimes. They've written so many false stories about me lately, including the kidnapping and my vacation BFs, that I'm not worried about what they're writing now. It's not like I'm driving without a license and getting into fender benders or shaving my head.

  Nadine looks incredulous. "Haven't you been reading the tabloids this week?"

  "Nadine, I've been a bit preoccupied," Mom snaps. "I have a lot on my plate with this Fashionistas fiasco. I don't have time to read all of Kaitlin's clippings."

  Thank God.

  "But --" Nadine tries again.

  "Nadine, seriously, if someth
ing is wrong, Laney will tell me," Mom says.

  Laney has been annoyed, but she's only yelled at me twice so far. She's also been busy. One of her other clients got into a huge fight in Vegas and caused massive damage to one of the casinos. Luckily, Laney has experience putting out Vegas fires!

  "I know Kaitlin has been going out lately, but there's nothing wrong with that," Mom continues. "I've been begging Kaitlin to be seen at events for years. I'm just glad she finally listened."

  "Wow, Mom, thanks," I say and shoot Nadine a triumphant look.

  Nadine rolls her eyes. "Being seen out is fine, but I'm not sure the company Kaitlin is keeping is the best. Controversy follows Lauren and Ava wherever they go."

  "I don't know," Mom says, looking pensive. "Lauren's mom is on a few committees with me and she is a doll."

  Nadine's face darkens. This is one argument I don't think she can win.

  "Kaitlin, by the way," Mom adds. "They have a date for the Pretty Young Assassins press junket. It's going to be Saturday, February twenty-eighth."

  Wow. I can't believe it's time for that already.

  "Oh and I saw Liz's dad today," Mom says. "Are you two fighting?"

  Nadine gives me a look and I turn away. "No," I squeak.

  "I didn't think so," Mom says. "I told him if you two weren't speaking, I would know." She heads to the kitchen. "Have fun tonight!"

  Nadine and I are alone again. Awkwardly, uncomfortably alone. I sidestep Nadine and reach for the doorknob.

  "I don't care what your mom thinks, Lauren and Ava are a bad influence," Nadine says quietly.

  I whirl around. "I don't care what you think," I say boldly. "I don't care how many articles you leave me, I'm not going to stop hanging out with them just because you say so."

  Nadine genuinely looks confused. "I haven't been leaving you any articles."

  Someone has. They've been leaving them under my dressing room door.

  "Kaitlin, I just want what's best for you," Nadine stresses.

  "I thought you wanted what's best for you," I point out. "Maybe if you'd stop pushing me around so much and blabbering on about the SATs all the time, I wouldn't have to go out on a work night to blow off some steam. Just because you haven't done anything with your life other than be an assistant is no reason to take it out on me! You've become a real pain, Nadine."